


And They Were Roommates...kinda

by J_halstead



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: ??? yeah i think ??? if not then they just really wanna make out and arent sure about it, F/M, Rojas is the biggest Upstead shipper, UST, Upjas!roommates, and they were quarantine roommates, but they're doing their part and STAYING HOME, eventual upstead, haileys back from NY and everyones happy, kinda slow burn but I have no patience because being in my house for 15 days has made me crazy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23389588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_halstead/pseuds/J_halstead
Summary: Hailey's back from New York. And everyone's happy. Until they have to quarantine. Obviously there's going to be a lot of feelings and Rojas is going to make the best out of this situation for everyone.Multi-chapter i promise; just hang in there
Relationships: Hailey Upton & Vanessa Rojas, Jay Halstead & Vanessa Rojas, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Comments: 18
Kudos: 159





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> uh yeah quarantine's got me a little crazy and I feel like I can write again. might be a little ooc to have jay with hailey and vanessa but oh well.   
> pls stay home like our fave detectives
> 
> also i don't have a beta so mistakes are all me

Hailey called Jay early one afternoon, sixteen days after she had left, and told him she was on her way to catch a flight home. He, of course, immediately said he would be there to pick her up when she got in.

When Vanessa also got the call, she and Jay began planning a nice welcome home night. They knew Hailey wouldn’t want to go to Molly’s, or even to be with the whole team yet. So Vanessa offered to grill steaks and get a dinner together while Jay went to the airport. The two of them went to the grocery store together to get sides and drinks and a dessert. 

Jay made sure she was all set at home before he left, Hailey shooting him a text that the plane had just landed but she still needed to get off and go to baggage claim. He knew he had time, but he was just so excited to see her and have her back.

Timing with them was perfect for once. Jay pulled up to the curb as soon as Hailey walked outside. He jumped out of the truck and quickly scooped her up in a hug, not giving either of them time to think if it was weird or not. 

“Hey there partner.” Hailey breathed in the scent of his cologne, gripping his jacket tight. She felt one of his hands at the base of her neck with the other on her lower back. 

“Oh man, you have no idea how happy I am you’re back.” His hand moved from her neck to her waist. “It’s really good to have you back.” A car horn pulled them from their little moment. “I want to hear all about New York and the FBI, but I think we need to get out of here first.”

Jay grabbed her suitcase and put it in the backseat while Hailey jumped in the passenger seat in the truck. She sat for a moment and smiled, waiting for Jay to jump in. “I missed the truck.” He looked over and gave her a smile she’s only seen a couple times, then Jay shot off a text to Vanessa telling ehr they were on their way, and threw the trunk in drive and pulled away from the airport.

Late rush hour traffic gave Hailey plenty of time to tell Jay all about New York. Of course they kept in touch while she was there, but between the two teams, there wasn’t a whole lot of time to catch up. He did feel more comfortable that she was teamed up with another ex Army Ranger, because even if he didn’t know the guy he trusted them all with his life. She told him how his partner also left overnight with only a quick goodbye, but her assignment was by choice. 

Jay told Hailey about the first day she was gone, and how he butted heads with Voight on the choice to send her away. He told her about Ruzek slipping and falling on his ass, because even though it was spring there were still storms and snow and ice. Thankfully, he grabbed a parking spot right in front of her house, but the two of them didn’t move once the car was in park.

“Jay.” Hailey moved in her seat to face him. “I just wanted to let you know that being away has given me a chance to really think about things. And I just want to thank you for just being you, for always being here and doing our thing. And I’m really lucky to have you as a partner.” She reached over and put her hand on his that was still holding the gear shift.

He sighed softly, turning his hand until it held hers. “Thank you, you know I appreciate that and I feel the same way. You’re the person I trust the most with my life, besides Will because he could physically save my life.” He got a soft laugh out of her.” But seriously, if you need a reminder of that, just ask me and my big ego instead of getting sent to New York.” She felt his thumb dragging circles across the back of her hand. His tongue darted out and swiped across his lower lip. “Alright. We need to go inside because I know Vanessa is bouncing off the walls to see you.”

Hailey knew from her roommate that their relationship had grown since she’d been gone. And she was glad that they leaned on each other and bonded over missing her. The two had been partnered up quite a bit in the two weeks, and Jay told her that he saw a lot of her in Vanessa. 

She was halfway up the front steps, Jay behind her with her suitcase, when the front door swung open. “Hailey!” Arms wrapped around her neck and pulled her inside. “Oh my god! You’re back! It’s been forever, thank god you’re finally home.” She stopped and hugged Rojas tight, thankful that she had people to come home to who cared this much. The younger officer backed away, hands still on her biceps. “The house plants are still alive, and we have food, and I changed your sheets ‘cause I thought you’d like coming home to clean sheets. I hope you don’t think that’s weird.” Hailey didn’t think she could smile any bigger when she first saw Jay, but she proved herself wrong. 

“Hey hey, we’re good. That actually sounds amazing right now.” She started moving inside. “I missed you, it’s really good to be back. And it smells amazing in here.” Hailey heard Jay moving upstairs to put her suitcase in her room. 

“Yeah we thought you’d probably appreciate a good meal after living on takeout for two weeks.” The ‘we’ clicked the most in Hailey’s head, and apparently on her face. “Yeah Jay’s idea, we got everything after work. He got the vegetables and I got the ice cream. He missed you. A lot.” 

“Okay okay, I get it. Can we eat? And then I’ll tell you everything about the FBI and New York.” She ignored the teasing smile from Vanessa and moved into the kitchen. She smiled to herself at the place settings. Vanessa moved to grab the steaks and Hailey felt Jay’s hand squeezing her shoulder.

“Home sweet home, right?”

“Absolutely.”

The three of them talked over dinner and wine. Hailey told them all about her partner and the set up that the New York field office has and their team, which regularly had loaners from all over the place. Her phone rang when they were about to clean up.

“Wow, saved by the bell.” 

“You know I was never going to let you clean, it’s my turn anyways.” Jay laughed at her as she moved to the living room to take the call. Neither Jay nor Vanessa could hear what the call was, but it wasn’t long and definitely not a happy call. “Don’t even tell me the FBI wants you back.” 

“No. No, that was the airline or the airport, idk. But some asshole on my flight tested positive for COVID-19 the other day and still flew. So they’re telling me that I have to quarantine for two weeks.” Hailey took a deep breath and looked between the two of them. “And anyone that I came into immediate contact with has to quarantine too.”

“Oh shit.”

Hailey’s first call was to Voight, knowing if he had to speak to one of them he easily could. Jay was at the sink cleaning everything from dinner and watched as she pace. He knew all about their last interaction together and how it really shook Hailey, so she was rightfully nervous that she may have infected and benched half of his team for two weeks.

“She looked really happy, y’know.” Vanessa had this habit of popping up when Jay was deep in thought. Especially when he was thinking about her. “I saw you guys sitting in the truck, and she looked happy with you.”

“Yeah,” he turned to face her instead, with a small smile on his face. “She’s just really happy to be home. At least she was until this shit.” 

“I think she’ll get over the guilt, especially once you tell her you’ll quarantine here.” His head snapped up from the plate he was washing to look Rojas in the eye. “Well the whole point of it is to contain the spread, so we just stay together for the two weeks and thus we limit our contact with the outside world.”

Jay was starting to look at her like she had ten heads. He loved the idea of being home with Hailey, and even Vanessa since they had become closer. But not now, not when he had just realized how he really felt for his partner. Thanks to a chat he had with Rojas early into Hailey’s re-assignment, he was hit with the ton of bricks that are his feelings for Hailey Ann Upton. 

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No Vanessa, that’s a lot for her right now. She just got home and she definitely doesn’t want me-”

“I definitely don’t want you what, Jay?” He didn’t realize she had hung up with Voight, and the smile of Rojas’ face was priceless.

“Well, me and Jay were just talking, that since you hugged me and I’m assuming you hugged him and we’ve all been together, we should just quarantine together. Here. You know, to limit contact with the outside world.” Hailey’s eyebrows slowly inched up, then she flicked her eyes over to her partner to see his reaction. 

“I figured you’d want me out of here and at my own place in case I get sick.” She loved working with him everyday, but there were times when Hailey couldn’t get a read on him and how he actually felt about a situation. And this was one of those times. 

“Jay you’re horrible when you get sick. But if you want to, I feel like it would be smarter for you to stay.” His eyes bounced between the two women. “But, obviously, totally up to you.”

He tried to get a read on her, hoping he would be able to see what she wanted. But he couldn’t, and if he was being honest, he would rather be here with her than home alone for two weeks.

“I mean, if you guys are okay with me crashing, I agree it’s probably best. And I already know you have a good couch so no complaints here.” Jay put on the most forced smile and went back to the dishes, just to get out of the conversation.

“Good because honestly Jay,” Hailey leaned in to whisper in his ear. “You’re awful when you get even a cold so if you get this, you’re done for.” The feeling of her breath on his neck sent a chill down his spine. And there was only one thought in his head as she walked away.

“Man this is going to be a long two weeks.” Vanessa spoke his thoughts and gave him a pat on the back as she grabbed the rest of the dishes.


	2. DAY ONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> first full day in quarantine. you know how it goes, you think it’s nothing and that you’ll have no problem doing it for two weeks and it seems so easy. LMAO jokes on them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> day 17 in this household and we are losing our goddamn minds   
> it’s also 1:15 in the morning 
> 
> still no beta; all mistakes are on me (:

Jay wakes up on the couch, because there’s only two bedrooms and he’s not sure he trusts himself in bed with Hailey. His phone shows it’s only 7 and he can’t go into work, so he starts making breakfast. Figuring that Hailey would sleep for a while, he doesn’t make a huge spread yet, just coffee and some toast.

Waiting for the two of them, he scrolls through twitter and watches the news on low. The reports of cases were getting crazier every day. He sent a text to Will, saying how much he appreciated his brother and all their friends at Med. His head turned at the sound of a creaking step, Hailey coming into view seconds after.

“Morning roomie.” He flashed a big smile at her, knowing she was definitely not a morning person. 

“Coffee on?” He nodded and watched her move around the kitchen. It gave him a second to take in her current outfit: a too big Bulls hoodie and bright red basketball shorts. If being quarantined for two weeks with nowhere to go gave him super-casual Hailey, he would gladly take it. Because being completely honest, she looked pretty cute.

Jay grabbed one of the throw blankets he used and tossed it on her lap when she sat down next to him. “Sleep well?”

Hailey nodded slowly while taking a long sip. “There’s truly nothing better than sleeping in your own bed after being gone for so long. Especially after sleeping in a hotel bed.” She tucked her toes under Jay’s thigh to keep warm. “And Vanessa was so right about the clean sheets.” Jay laughed softly at her. He went back to his phone while she watched the news and couldn’t help but think about how domestic it was all turning out to be. And it was only day 1. 

Not too long later, Hailey’s stomach growled pretty loud. They looked at each other and laughed before moving into the kitchen. Hailey knew he was a good cook so she filled her mug and took a seat at the island and watched him move around.

“Alright, what are you feeling? Pancakes? Eggs? Omelets? We grabbed extra bell peppers and that cheese you like.” 

“That sounds perfect. Tell me if you want me to do anything?” He quickly waved her off and got breakfast going. The smell of fresh food dragged Rojas out of bed. “Morning V, Jay’s doing omelets.” The three of them ate in comfortable silence. Hailey reminded Jay he should reach out to Will and let him know what’s going on.

She cleaned what remained from breakfast while Jay called his brother, bracing himself for the medical advice they were about to get. He knew the ED was busy and wasn’t surprised when he caught Will’s voicemail. Leaving a quick message, he shot off a text too. 

Hey.  
Good news: Hailey’s home.  
Bad news: someone on her flight tested positive for coronavirus and now I’m quarantined with her and Rojas (:  
No need to worry, I’ll let you know who’s turning into a zombie first 

Hailey thought the text was too blunt and casual, especially because Will was naturally a nervous wreck and even more so with this virus. Vanessa, on the other hand, thought it was hilarious. He and the rookie had bonded a bit while Hailey was gone and it started a great friendship. 

Most of the rest of the day was spent on the couch binging Netflix shows and napping. Jay quickly learned Vanessa snored softly and was a blanket hog. She started on the right side of the couch, curled into the corner. Hailey was on the left side, slouching more and more sideways towards Jay as she started to fall asleep. Jay was in the middle of the two, with a blanket across his lap and covering Vanessa’s legs. Halfway through an episode of The Office, the blanket was ripped from his lap and then covered the young officer. Jay stared at her in disbelief that she did all of that and was still sound asleep. 

Around 7 that night Will had called and said he was on his way over to drop off pizzas and more clothes for Jay. He truly felt for his brother with everything that was going on at Med. Jay thought he could lighten his brother’s mood a bit by sitting on the ground at the door waiting. 

Will walked up laughing at how little Jay looked sitting in his PJs and a hoodie. They sat and talked through the door for a couple minutes before Jay told him to go home. The pizzas and his duffle were left outside the door until Will was on the sidewalk and Jay went outside. 

Their night continued pretty much the same way. Vanessa went upstairs early, claiming she had books she wanted to start reading. Hailey and Jay were left to continue bingeing The Office. He got up and went to the kitchen for a couple minutes and came back with a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and two spoons. 

“Halstead. You spoil me.” The smile on her face was contagious. Jay sat closer to her that he was earlier with the justification that they were sharing the ice cream so he had to be close. But even after they finished it, even after they watched 6 more episodes and both began falling asleep, neither moved. 

Jay woke up and it took him a couple seconds to realize Hailey was cuddled into his chest. He could tell it was the middle of the night from how dark it was, and the tv showed the typical ‘are you still watching’ screen meaning they probably slept through at least 3 or 4 episodes. Jay had his back to the back of the couch, one arm under the pillow with the other draped across her waist on the blanket. Hailey’s head was tucked under his chin, with her nose pressed against his chest. 

He knew, while the couch was comfortable, Hailey would hate waking up on it instead of in her own bed. Jay gently rubbed his hand across Hailey’s back. The new soothing motion slowly woke her up. She inhaled deeply, immediately recognizing the smell, and stretched the length of her body. What she didn’t realize was thst she practically rolled on top of Jay while stretching. And if she felt him hold his breath, she definitely wasn’t going to bring it up. 

“Sorry I just need to go to the bathroom.” His hand continued the motion as she looked at him. A teasing smile grew the longer she said nothing. “Hailey.”

“Right yeah sorry.” She sat up quickly, looking at the cable box for the time. “Damn 3:15. Good thing we don’t have to go into work tomorrow.” 

“Yeah good thing.” Day one and already he had a hard time looking away from her. “You should go up and sleep in your own bed. I promise I won’t watch any more without you.” 

“Oh yeah I should try and sleep.” She tried not to let the disappointment show and hoped that Jay’s head was still clouded from the early hour to notice. He squeezed her shoulder and watched her get up. “Goodnight roomie.”


	3. DAY TWO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s been a minute since I updated so this chapters over 2000 words to try and make up for it

The sound of a glass shattering, and a couple curse words getting thrown around, had Jay jumping off the couch. His head was a bit hazy from just waking up, but within seconds he realized where he was. He moved to the kitchen and saw Vanessa holding her hand against her chest.

“Whoa, hey, keep pressure on it.” Between the field medical training he got in the army, and the random stories and lessons that Will told him, Jay knew enough about how to take care of it. He held her wrist and pressed a dish towel onto it. “I’m gonna grab the first aid kit. Don’t move that yet, we need to slow the bleeding and then clean it up.” Quickly he swept up the chunks of glass and wiped the floor so no one else would get cut. 

Vanessa was biting her lip trying not to laugh. She knew he was always a bit of a dad, but watching him do all that she couldn’t help it. Jay came back from the bathroom holding a decent size first aid kit that Vanessa wasn’t even aware that they had. He popped it open and she saw how it was meticulously packed and organized. 

She jumped up to sit on the island and watched as he pulled out gauze and ointment and tape, lining everything up on the counter next to her. 

“I thought your brother was the doctor in the family.” Jay looked up to her, mouth slightly open as if he was caught doing something. “And did you steal this kit from the hospital or something?”

Jay laughed softly and started working on Vanessa’s hand. “Between my brother and some field medic training I know the basics. And as for the kit, it’s Hailey’s but I make sure she keeps it stocked.” She watched him put everything on with precision. “I was over once, probably a year ago, and Hailey dropped a wine glass trying to get it from the shelf and cut her foot on a shard. This thing had a box of bandaids, a couple packs of gauze and an ace bandage.” He shook his head laughing, remembering Hailey said if she needed anything more than that she’d go to the hospital. “Ever since then I have kept it filled.”

“Hailey said you’re not a fan of hospitals. That why you’d rather patch everyone up here?” Jay had the remaining trash in his hands when his head snapped up. 

“When did she say that?” A look came over Vanessa’s face, thinking maybe it was a secret she wasn’t supposed to know. “No it’s okay. I just never heard her bring it up.” Jay stood next to where she was sitting, closing up the kit. 

“When you were shot.” His eyebrows pinched together. He remembered asking Hailey to get him out of there after he woke up even though he knew she would say no. But Vanessa wasn’t there for that. “Hailey stayed in the waiting room from the moment you were brought in until you got into a room after surgery. The superintendent gave us a case, but she never left so I went by with a change of clean clothes and food for her. She said how you hate hospitals and needles, and would rather get shot than get a shot. Then we got into all the feelings and then I got called back to the case.”

Jay leaned his forearms against the countertop while he processed what Vanessa was telling him. While he was bleeding out in surgery Hailey and Vanessa talked about feelings, then Hailey says she realized something that she needs to tell him. He blew out a hard breath and held his head in his hands. 

“You think you’re good at hiding it too. But it’s written all over your face basically any time you see her.” She squeezes his shoulder gently, “I love you both, but you need to pull your heads outta your asses and just make out already. Thanks for this, by the way,” she said, raising her newly bandaged hand. And with that, Vanessa jumped off the island and walked back up to bed, leaving Jay with his thoughts on what to do. 

He stood in the kitchen for a while drinking coffee. He wasn’t even sure what time it was, but he knew he needed to clear his head. He knew he had feelings for his partner, and he thought she might feel the same way. But after both of their failed relationships with previous partners he was hesitant about diving into it. 

Eventually he reclaimed his spot on the couch. Jay couldn’t find a single show to watch besides infomercials. He settled on a mindless string of ads selling workout equipment and let that lull him back to sleep for the time being. 

-

Hailey came downstairs about an hour later. She was surprised to see the sun was up and Jay was still asleep. She saw a note written in his handwriting stuck on a stool that was pulled away from the counter. “Dropped a mug. I cleaned it up but be careful.” Everything about this man made her smile. She was starting to realize that soon she’d have to tell him how she feels, especially if they’re basically living together. 

She grabbed a cup of water and sat down in the corner of the couch. Jay’s feet brushed against her thigh when he rolled over, causing the down comforter he was using to fall half on the floor. Hailey picked it up and covered him with it. She pulled a throw blanket across her legs and leaned back into the couch and pillows Jay had tossed down near his legs. Her thumb rubbed circles against his calf. Hailey could feel how restless he was and realized the only times he’s stuck inside are when he’s injured. She made a mental note to make sure they did something other than sit on the couch all day. 

At some point she dozed off and only woke up when she felt Jay’s legs moving under her. At first both of them were confused, making eye contact through bleary eyes. 

“Well good morning!” Vanessa’s voice made them both whip their heads in her direction. “Or I mean good afternoon since it’s already 1230.” Hailey’s head dropped back onto the pillow that was now between Jay’s legs and the couch. She felt him shake with a chuckle, which made her smile, and sit up so her pillow was now in his lap. Keeping her face buried, she heard the two of them talking about how she’s not a morning person (even though it was the afternoon, there’s no sense of time in quarantine). Jay’s hand brushed a piece of hair out of her face, letting him see the small smile. His fingers ran through her hair and paused for a moment before squeezing her shoulder and standing up. 

Hailey couldn’t even look to see if he was gone. She covered her face, which she felt getting hot, with her hands and rolled into her back. She felt Vanessa sit on the arm of the couch by Hailey’s feet and dared to look.

“What am I gonna do?” The younger woman’s laugh filled the room.

-

After a later lunch, Hailey managed to get the three of them outside in the postage stamp yard they had. There was a patio set with an umbrella, and a hammock that was supported by the fence, the house, and a tree. Jay hung in the hammock reading one of the books he borrowed from Vanessa. When she told him to pick one out, he was not expecting two filled bookcases. She said that she always carried a book when she was moving around, even keeps one in her desk now for slow days. 

Vanessa and Hailey were playing cards at the table with some music on. Occasionally, Jay would jump in the conversation about whatever or tell them they were playing by the wrong rules. Vanessa’s phone dinged and she laughed a little reading the message. 

“Hails, Kev says he’s pretty pissed right now cause he missed you when you were gone. And now you’re home and he still can’t see you.” Hailey and Kevin had a great relationship. He was always looking out for her and they got lunch every once in a while. 

“Yeah? Tell him I miss him too but he’s not getting anywhere near me for 12 more days.” She looked over at Jay and watched him read with a focus that almost had her laughing. Hailey felt a kick to her shin, looking quickly at Vanessa who was nodding and motioning for her to go to Jay. They were going back and forth for a minute or so before Vanessa made a move back into the house, mentioning something about making fajitas for dinner. 

Hailey felt her heart racing a bit, this wasn’t the right time. She kept thinking about what would happen if he didn’t want to start a relationship and then they were stuck in the house for another week and a half together. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jay get up. But instead of going inside like she thought, he took the seat that Vanessa had just left. 

“So.” He folded his hands on top of the book. “She cooks?”

“Yeah” Hailey breathed out a laugh. “She’s pretty good, better than me. But I make the drinks, so really it balances out. And I think tonight calls for margaritas. 

“You trying to get me drunk Upton?”

She leaned forward, elbows on the table, looking into Jay’s eyes. “Don’t have to try hard when you’re pretty willing.” She watched his eyes squint as he laughed. Needing a distraction, Hailey grabbed the cards from in front of Jay, her hand brushing against his as she gathered them all up. 

The two of them played while Vanessa cooked. Jay would watch Hailey when she wasn’t looking. He noticed how she stuck her tongue out a little when she was trying to figure out her next move. It was a shock she could interrogate suspects with such a bad poker face, or maybe he just knew her well enough. 

Vanessa yelled out the screen door that the food was almost ready. Hailey went in to make margaritas and Jay offered to set the table. He kept laughing to himself because just when he thought this couldn’t get more domestic, it did. 

Hailey had filled their large blender with margaritas, and even after they finished eating they finished off the container. When they ran out and couldn’t be bothered to make more, Jay began pouring glasses of tequila. Jay and Hailey were telling stories about everything from when they were rookies on a beat or when they were first pulled onto a unit and then when they were partnered together. 

It was well into the night when Vanessa’s phone rang and Kevin’s face appeared on the screen. “What’s Kev doing calling you after midnight?” Jay couldn’t help but tease her, given that she basically interrogated him about his feelings for Hailey. 

“Maybe he just wants to talk to me.” She stood up, and swayed a little, shrugging her shoulders and walked backwards towards the stairs. “Why can’t this really nice, good looking man just want to talk? Nothing wrong with that!” 

Jay and Hailey were bent over laughing after she left. “Does she know she just called Kevin good looking to our faces?” 

“Oh yeah, I’ve suspected they were a thing when you were gone. Definitely something going on.” Jay leaned back in his chair and looked over. “It’s funny how things change.” She looked over to her partner with her eyebrows raised. “When I first joined the unit, Voight made a point to say he doesn’t tolerate in-house romance. Now here we are years later and over half his team is in a relationship with each other. And Adam and Kim almost had a baby.”

“Yeah.” She swirled her glass and thought about what he might be getting at. “But we’ve both done it before, and we know it’s not the best idea to get involved with someone at work.”

“Unless it’s the right person. Then, everything just works.”

A breath caught in Hailey’s chest. Was Jay saying he wanted to give it a shot? He mumbled something about it being late and cleaning up in the morning. She nodded at him but didn’t get up just yet. They stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to make a move. And when nothing happened, Jay pressed his lips in a thin line and got up from his seat. He rubbed his hand against Hailey’s back as he walked by and said goodnight, leaving her sitting there trying to figure out what the hell just happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Jay was pretty good at hiding his feelings. He’d done it already for the last year, when he began to realize the feelings he had for Hailey. Their conversation last night kept going through his head making him overthink everything. What if she didn’t feel the same way? What if she didn’t think it was worth it to try? When Jay saw 4:45 across the cable box he decided to just get up and try to be productive instead of getting stuck inside his head. He changed into some workout clothes and grabbed his keys, which had one for Hailey’s house, and took off to burn some pent up energy.

With his feet pounding the pavement, Jay felt more relaxed for the first time in a while. He realized that they had been through a lot lately. Maybe this was a good break for them to take a breath and figure everything out. After a couple miles he turned around and headed back to the house. He put the coffee on and got the day started as usual. 

He didn’t want to make a big deal of nothing. He couldn’t just go back to his own apartment without making both Vanessa and Hailey suspicious, so Jay was going to play it cool. Hailey was his partner, his best friend, and honestly the most important person in his life, and right now he didn’t want to jeopardize that. 

So when Hailey and Vanessa came down stairs the next morning, it was pretty easy for him to pretend like nothing had happened last night. Like he didn’t subtly, barely mentioned they could be a couple. That they were right for each other. And if he took a double take at Hailey, because even in oversized tees she looked beautiful, well they didn’t notice. 

“If you guys have anything that needs to get fixed around the house, just make a list and I can do it while I’m here.” Jay sipped his coffee looking between them both. “Might as well give me something to keep me occupied.”

“You’re a handyman now? Thought that was just one of your UC jobs.” Hailey was poking fun at him, knowing that there have been so many little covers to keep him in the area: construction, maintenance, electrician, basically everything.

“Just thought I could help out while I’m here.” He refilled his mug and stood. “Doesn’t seem fair for me to be crashing on your couch and shoving myself in your lives for nothing.” Jay went and sat at the table outside, leaving Hailey and Vanessa in the kitchen. 

“What the hell was that about?” Vanessa turned to look at her roommate. Last night when she left them, they were as happy as they usually are. Sure, they were a little buzzed. But Vanessa knows nothing could have happened. “Hailey, what happened last night? Did you guys-”

“No! I don’t know.” Hailey watched him with her brow pinched together. Normally, Jay would’ve cracked a joke about being a handyman or crashing on the couch. “We just talked, nothing happened. Not a kiss, or confession of feelings, or even a fight. I just- I don’t know why he’s like this.” 

The day went on and the three of them got into their own routines. Hailey cleaned up breakfast and would go into cleaning the house and decided to do laundry today. Jay was outside reading Vanessa’s book still, so she popped her head out to ask him if he wanted laundry done. Immediately, Jay said no. He thought that was too domestic for even them, especially now when everything was on a line. 

Hailey went into making lunch between loads. Being with Jay and Vanessa most of the hours in her day made her know their typical food likes and dislikes. She made Vanessa a ham and cheese, Jay a BLT, and herself tuna. Usually her and Jay would split and get half of each but she wasn’t sure if his recent mood would change that, so she didn’t do anything.

After Jay had finished one half he looked at the other and noticed it was also BLT. He looked around and found Hailey inside still eating her first half. He knew that he was the reason the house was tense, and he wasn’t even sure Hailey knew why. Was he being absolutely ridiculous? Yes. Did he have any good reason? No. But he wasn’t ready to talk to her yet.

He decided he was going to take a shower, since he hadn’t after his run this morning. As he walked by Hailey, he left his plate in front of her. “You can have my half.” 

Hailey looked up at him quickly and back down at the sandwich. He didn’t want her to think that he was mad she didn’t swap. He knew this was his fault for making it weird. The whole time he was in the shower Jay thought about how he could talk to her about this. He didn’t want to make anything weirder since they still had a while left being cooped up in the house. 

He quickly changed into shorts in the bathroom and was running the towel against his hair. Jay’s eyes focused on the scar from the most recent bullet wound. He was so sure that Hailey was going to tell him she liked him that day. And he was ready to say it back.

He walked out of the bathroom and down the hall. Vanessa’s door was closed but Hailey’s was partially open. He leaned against the door frame and watched her for a moment. She was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to him, looking at a frame she was holding in her lap. He couldn’t see what photo it was but he had a feeling. 

“Hails.” His voice sounded rougher than usual but he chalked that up to not drinking enough water. Hailey turned around, swinging so one leg was on the bed while the other hung off it. “I think we need to talk.” 

Hailey bit her bottom lip and nodded softly. “Yeah Jay I think we do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi yeah it's me, sorry i really suck  
> if you're actually still reading this thank u!   
> I promise I'll get better at updating


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey. me again. sorry i'm so bad at updating. also sorry this chapter is short but i wanted to get something up. and i'm not that happy with it but it is what it is.

Jay stepped in, shutting the door behind him so they wouldn’t bother Vanessa, and leaned back against the door. He’d never been in Hailey’s bedroom before. Quickly looking around, he could tell that it was just so her. The light wooden furniture, the soft blues and greens, and there were some photos of the team and her brothers and a few of him with her. All tucked on shelves or on top of things.

“I’m sorry.” 

She raised her eyebrows, hoping that he was more mature than to just give her that. 

“I’ve been off today because I didn’t know what to think after everything I said. Then I realized I was making everyone uncomfortable and I have to be a grown up about this. Last night. It was completely out of line of me to say any of that, and I swear I didn’t say it towards you and Ruzek. I just know we’ve both been in in-house relationships, seen how bad they can turn out. I watched Kim and Ruzek fall in love and then fall apart time and time again.” He ran a hand through his hair, making it slightly messy. “Hailey, you’re the most important person in my life. Would never want to put you through that weird, awkward shit at work. As a cop, you deserve more than that. And as the most badass, loving, amazing woman I know, you deserve better.”

Her eyes were on him the whole time, knowing he was being honest. Taking a breath, she reached a hand out towards him. Hailey would be lying if she said she didn’t feel the tension in the house today. With Jay, everything always felt natural, even from the beginning. This morning was such an odd change she didn’t even know what to think of it.

“I think the conversation last night was a long time coming. But I think you were right last night.” She watched him work through it in his head, eyebrows scrunching together and then slowly moving up. “I agree that when you’re with the right person, the one that you’re supposed to be with, that everything is perfect.” 

“We’ve both been through this before, with people we thought were the ones for us-”

“You know, you have the biggest heart.” Hailey reached out once again, this time holding his hand. “And I know I’ve told you it’s going to get you into trouble, but for once I wish you would listen to it. Or at least listen to what I’m saying.” She lifted his chin with her other hand, making him look at her. “Jay, I’m telling you that I think we could give this a shot. Half the people we meet already think we’re together, and Vanessa has already probably started scheming something. But most importantly. I like you, like I have really big, really strong feelings for you.”

Hailey watched as Jay’s mouth opened and closed a few times without saying anything. After about a minute his eyes got a little wide and he looked at her hand that was holding his. “You do?”

Hailey looked down shyly and bit her lip. “Yeah, I do. I was going to tell you before but then it never-“

Jay cut her off, gently pressing his lips against hers. His right hand was still laced with hers. While his left rested against the side of her neck softly. Honestly, he thought about kissing her before, but he never thought it would feel as perfect as this. Neither of them moved their hands that were held together. But Hailey pressed her hand against his chest. She felt Jay’s lips chasing hers a bit, blowing out a small laugh. 

“So.” He bumped his nose against hers, “You like me, huh?”

Her head fell back when she laughed. “Yeah yeah. Don’t let it go to your head.” Hailey noticed that they were still holding hands. “So is this gonna be like a trial run? Make sure you still like me after we’re done quarantining?”

“Eh. I’m pretty sure I will. But maybe we can just get to know each other better.”

“Jay. I know everything about you.”

“What’s my favorite color? What’s my favorite kind of ice cream? What’s my middle name?”

She squinted her eyes and bit her lip again before smiling. “Alright. We’ll get to know each other. But this isn’t something we can hide from Vanessa, especially not while we’re all living together. She’s pretty smart and I wouldn’t be surprised if she makes detective faster than Ruzek.”

Jay pressed a kiss against her temple and pulled her against his chest. “I’m sorry I’m an idiot sometimes.”

Hailey laughed and kissed his jaw. “Happens to the best of us.”


End file.
